Sagewood eager to accept Extended Care clients

Times Contributor    

 

There are 23 patients housed in Strathmore Hospital’s Extended Care Unit that will be looking to secure a home and care services this fall, as the Strathmore Extended Care Unit will be closed. Alberta Health Services plans to transition all suitable patients to the Strathmore’s Sagewood facility. 

Amir Rajani, General Manager for the facility, said that by fall they will be ready for the new challenge.

“As far as being ready, we have done this before, we have the experience, we have the plan of how we should do it and we have the support of Age Care as a whole. We are excited and this will be a huge endeavour. It is not just for Sagewood or Age Care, this is for the community. I treat these people as if they are my grandparents. I am adding 105 (residents) to my 102. Isn’t it exciting,” said Rajani.

Phase Two at Sagewood will open 105 rooms, in a new three story wing. There will be 35 living units on each floor. There are 70 units designated as Stage four supportive living (SL4). Thirty five units will be for clients with general SL4 supportive living needs. 

There are 35 secured units set aside for those clients with dementia. There are currently 20 clients with dementia living in Phase One. Those clients will be moved into the new security serviced wing, leaving 15 units for new clients, and freeing beds up for supportive living spaces in Phase One. A new secured outdoor space will open this fall, for use by the dementia patients. Rajani said elevators to the floors will be outside access doors to the floors, increasing client security and safety. Staff will have communication and video devices that will monitor the dementia patients and protect their safety.

There are 35 units, located on the third floor, for the new Long Term Care clients. 

Rajani said he has been approached by families with family members in the extended care, to secure a space at Sagewood. Alberta Health Services requires the transfer to be handled by transition services at the hospital.

“For Phase One, we had a meeting with Alberta Health Services where all the profiles were assessed. Our clinical need case managers, along with the AHS case managers and transition services assessed the profiles, that was how we started,” said Rajani.

“There were a number of at SL4 level applications,  that could be accommodated by Sagewood. Whenever we open the new sections, which we are planning to open in the fall, the process will be more or less similar.” 

Rajani said that staff for the new wing will be hired, prior to the client transition dates. As per standards, 24 hour-7 day coverage for shifts will be provided by a Registered Nurse, on the Long Term care floor. Under RN supervision, additional support staff for the wing will be Licenced Practical Nurses and Health Care Aids. Staff must complete a general orientation, a nursing orientation and a facility orientation prior to reporting for work. It takes approximately a week. The staff also helps set up the wards and are on hand for client admission. He said there is a whole admission process planned which calculates and addresses how many people will be admitted each week. The plan, from Sagewood’s perspective, will map out operations and logistics based on how many people are admitted per day, each week. Each week’s progress is also reviewed. Considerations for placement in the building are based on the profile of the client, the location of the client’s room as per their needs, and the staffing needs for their care. He said there will be handbooks given to family members, with all the necessary move-in information, and family meetings and tours are planned. Arrangements for specialist services are coordinated by Sagewood, for all the patients. A physiotherapy aid comes in twice a week, occupational therapists and dietician’s visits are coordinated to come in as the client needs, and additional recreational therapists will be hired.

A new outdoor patio is being incorporated into the relocation of the Bistro and a Recreation room is being added. New programs being offered by Sagewood are an Adult Day Support program. Seniors from the community, who live at home, perhaps under care of family members, can attend the program and engage in supervised recreational activities. It will allow them to interact with other seniors at the facility and allow caregivers to work, or get a needed break. There is also a Children’s Day Care planned for the facility, with intergenerational programming included. All activities will be communicated to and coordinated with family members. Anyone interested can contact the main Sagewood number at 403-361-8001.

“The intergenerational programs work really well with seniors,” said Rajani, who said the programs have been successful in other Age Care homes. 

He said he wants everyone to know the process is about more than where the clients will be housed.

“This is another chapter of their lives. We really want this chapter to be the most memorable one…the best experience of their life. It is all about the quality of life. It isn’t all about the type of accommodation,” said Rajani.